NOT the traditional egg hunt, the City of Greater Bendigo is instead on the hunt for volunteers to assist in running the four-day Bendigo Easter Fair.<\/p>\n
City manager of tourism Terry Karamaloudis said over 80 volunteers aged 15 and over are needed to run the 150th Easter Fair.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t need to give up lots of your time during the long weekend, it can be as little as a four-hour shift,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re planning to transform Bendigo\u2019s beautiful Rosalind Park and surrounding streets into a vibrant precinct for family-friendly entertainment with stage shows, activities, carnival rides, live music and roving performers over the four-day long weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year\u2019s Torchlight Procession will be held on Easter Sunday followed by fireworks and the Gala Parade on Easter Monday, when the world\u2019s longest Golden Dragon Dai Gum Loong will embark on his first solo parade outing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Former volunteer Jahmiele Hicks, who first got involved with the event when she was 16, encouraged anyone to give it a go.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did a few years in a row, doing all different roles across the grounds, helping other people, assisting kids and running different sections in Rosalind Park,\u201d Ms Hicks said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing Easter time, it was all positive and everyone was in good spirits. It was a lot of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a volunteer Ms Hicks was also involved with the State Government\u2019s FReeZA program behind events for young people and has helped in festivals across the state.<\/p>\n
Her work paid off as she was able to find full-time employment at Bendigo Venues and Events.<\/p>\n
She said whether you\u2019re looking for a career in events or not, there are many benefits from volunteering.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s nothing to lose really, it\u2019s always going to be something that gives rather than takes from you,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEspecially in my case it was something that gave me a lot of connections and I was able to really push myself up the ladder.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven if it\u2019s just for the one event and you just want to give it a go, it\u2019s always an interesting perspective to see what goes on behind the scenes and the people that do the work.\u201d<\/p>\n